30 maart 2014

A picture from last week while driving home again from Belgium (don't worry, I was on the passenger seat!), here on the Merwede bridge near Gorinchem. It's a very busy spot for rush hour traffic, but when we passed it in the afternoon it was very OK as you can see.A nice detail are the street lights that seem to be hanging upside down..or aren't they? What do you think?

27 maart 2014

A serious post today. This stone bench in the centre of Leeuwarden remembers Manuel Fetter, who -at the age of 32- was stabbed to death in the night of September 24, 2004, after he made a comment about a thrown away beer bottle.

23 maart 2014

The Sint-Janshuismolen (Saint John's house mill) is one of in total 4 mills near the old city centre of Bruges. This one, seen from the backside here against this morning's sky, was built in 1770 and was restorated in 2001. The fence around it has a pattern that can be recognised from Bruges lace, one of the things the city is famous for. I will show you a close up of the fence tomorrow.

22 maart 2014

Travelling north on our way to the North Cape in June 2009 we spent some time in the city of Tromsø. This is the public library and archive. The extraordinary roof's structure with 4 bowed arches was based on the Mexican architect Candela's structures, and is known as Candela shell.
If you would like to read more about the building click HERE.

21 maart 2014

This bus stop in the (only) village on Schiermonnikoog gives you the chance to read while you wait. It shows a poem written by Jacob Fenenga, which is part of the Taalroute (lit. Language route) that shows poems on 10 different public spots on the island.

"Unfortunately" the poem is written in the Friesian language, and that makes it very difficult to understand if you are not familiar with it. But I like the idea of publishing poems this way!

19 maart 2014

'De Roze Poedel' ('The Pink Poodle') is a trendy shop in the centre of Leeuwarden, specialised in selling beads and fun presents, as well as in organising children's parties, bachelor parties, and all kinds of workshops.

Besides the funny sign of (half a) poodle on the shop, there was also a pink bicycle -including it's own pink poodle sign- parked nearby.

16 maart 2014

This long cycle path leads you from the village of Schiermonnikoog to the ferry that will bring you back to Lauwersoog, on the mainland. On the other side of the dike is the Waddensea. On foot it's a good choice to walk on the grass on top of the dike, with a view on both the island as well as the Waddensea.

15 maart 2014

The Portuguese island Madeira is appreciated for many reasons, one of them is the levadas. Levadas are irrigations channels created to carry water from the northwest of the island to the drier southeast, where the agriculture is. The oldest levadas date from the 16th century, the most recent were made in the 1940s. Building them was often difficult as Madeira is very mountainous, which made it also necessary to dig tunnels.

There are more than 2170 km (1350 miles) of levadas! Today they provide a remarkable network of walking paths, like the one on the photo.

14 maart 2014

Wanted: ditch water!
This is the water pavilion 'Stille Wetters' ('Silent Waters') that can be viewed now in the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden. The round sort of chamber is an 'aquatheque' and resting spot -you can step inside and sit on the bench-, created from about 1,000 bottles with (ditch)water from a great number of different locations in Friesland and other places in the Netherlands. Visitors are invited to bring ditchwater themselves (max 1 liter), which will then be added to the growing collection..

11 maart 2014

The Kobbeduin beacon is located in the Kobbeduinen ('Kobbe dunes') on the east side of Schiermonnikoog. This wooden beacon stands on top of the dunes, obviously to help ships in navigating to their location -like a light house, but without the light. And even for us, on foot, it was a helpful mark in the distance.

'Kobbe' is related to the old word 'kove', meaning meeuw (the Dutch word for seagull).

10 maart 2014

Even though it must have been a bit cooler on the island Schiermonnikoog yesterday than other places in the Netherlands, it was pleasantly warm. This bench is near the beacon Kobbeduin and offering a nice wide view.

9 maart 2014

Many nature areas on the island Schiermonnikoog are used for grazing by cows and sheep during the Summer. So as a visitor, either on foot or by bicycle, you freqently pass a cattle grid. We had a lovely time on the island today, and the weather was just perfect!

8 maart 2014

The sun slowly sets on a late November afternoon here in the streets of the ancient Roman town Pompeii. The silence that suddenly came after the crowds were gone made it even more impressive to be there.

7 maart 2014

This is the front of Museum De Buitenplaats in Eelde. The building is a much discussed example of organic architecture. It's up to you if you like it, I think it's always great to see something different and eye catching.
The ears on the roof are temporary and there for the current exhibition called 'Nijntje' (known as Miffy in English). Nijntje is a small female rabbit in a series of children pictures books drawn and written by Dutch artist Dick Bruna.